"I called the commissioner of baseball a couple weeks ago and said, ‘America needs baseball,’” McConnell said. “It’s a sign of getting back to normal. Any chance?’”

McConnell also addressed college football and said that he anticipates games will be played in the fall.

"If we can salvage part of baseball, surely we can salvage football, as well," McConnell said. ... "I think the country needs sports.

“We’ve all missed that during the pandemic, and the sooner we can get at least some of our sports — and I think the one eligible to begin first, would be baseball — it would be a great morale-booster for the country and an indication that we are going to begin to get back to normal.”

Mitch McConnell said he made a personal plea to Rob Manfred to start baseball again. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of the U.S. public health front against the pandemic, said on Thursday that he hopes MLB can return sometime this year and that the resumption of games would be good for the nation’s mental health.

“I would love to be able to have all sports back,” Fauci told the New York Times. “But as a health official and a physician and a scientist, I have to say, right now, when you look at the country, we’re not ready for that yet.”

McConnell’s stance aligns with that of fellow Republican leadership in Florida and Texas with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordering business open in his state on Friday and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis laying out a plan to open business in his state on May 4.